


a knight's vow

by arstronomy



Category: GOT7
Genre: (herbs), Alternate Universe - Historical, Bread, Fluff, Knights - Freeform, M/M, Mild Blood, No Angst, No Smut, Weed, bandits, herbalist boy jinyoung, this is going to be Wholesome ok, wannabe knight boy jaebum
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-01 04:53:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12697779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arstronomy/pseuds/arstronomy
Summary: Jinyoung collects herbs and Jaebum protects Jinyoung.





	1. red moon flower

**Author's Note:**

> the summary is So Bad i’m sorry

Sage, saffron, rosemary, and lavender. 

 

Those are the four herbs that Jinyoung needs to collect for the day.

 

As the only son of the kingdom’s famous herbalist, he’s always had the job of gathering various herbs that are either going out of stock or are in high demand. Even though his family’s medicinal store is popular and countless customers purchase their goods every day, they’re still commoners. They can’t afford hiring other people to work at their store, and therefore has to have Jinyoung be their means of restocking their shelves. 

 

It’s the perfect job for Jinyoung, in all honesty, because he’s been physically weak since birth. 

 

When other children tripped over a large rock, they’d get away with only a couple scratches on their knees, whereas Jinyoung would suffer a broken bone. His colds and flus would last for weeks, while other children would be perfectly healthy after a couple of days. Jinyoung was considered lucky to be born as the kingdom’s best herbalist’s son, for a child as frail as he would have passed away by his fifth birthday. 

 

His body is weak, but his heart is just the opposite.

 

Like usual, Jinyoung throws on his brown hooded cape and grabs a round basket, handwoven by his mother. He wears gloves on his hands, which are meant to protect his fingers and palms from possibly getting cut by thorns or bitten by insects. Around his waist is a leather belt, made by his neighbors, and it holds a small dagger in its sheathe, just in case he needs to defend himself. His boots go up to his shins and are made out of tough yet comfortable material, allowing him to go on long walks without his feet getting sore.

The moment he steps out of the herb store, he feels the chilly breeze blow his hood off of his head. The wind is rather strong this morning and it’s colder than it typically is, but that doesn’t stop Jinyoung from heading to the nearby forest. His parents’ business relies on him collecting the fresh herbs, after all. 

Even though the sun is barely peeking over the faraway mountains and half the sky is still dark, the streets are busy with merchants, workers and the like. Jinyoung walks past the familiar scenery of the streets, watching old men open up their stores and little boys yawn while sitting on empty wooden crates. He shivers and pulls the hood over his head again, his ears starting to feel cold.

 

“Jinyoung!” a bright voice calls from the side. Jinyoung stops in his tracks and, after noticing who it is, walks up to him with a smile.

 

“Good morning, Youngjae,” he greets, giving him a light hug. He usually doesn’t hug his acquaintances and friends when he sees them, but the boy Youngjae is a special case. “Are you on your way to deliver bread?” 

“Yup! We baked sourdough bread a few hours ago.” Youngjae enthusiastically shows Jinyoung the two large baskets he’s holding, which do indeed have loaves of bread stuffed in them. He brings one of the baskets up closer to Jinyoung, indicating that he should smell it. Jinyoung takes a sniff of the basket briefly — the bread smells wonderful. 

If there’s one person that no one is capable of hating, it’s Youngjae. He’s the youngest child and second son of a famous baker who’s known for his delicious bread. Even noblemen and women occasionally visit his bakery with the desire to taste his artisan bread. The baker’s family is possibly the most kindest and generous of all commoners, and Youngjae is certainly not an exception. 

Every morning, Youngjae wakes up well before dawn in order to assist his father with the preparation, kneading, and baking of bread. After they’ve finished baking up a large batch, Youngjae then places the fresh loaves in baskets and delivers them to their good friends with a bright and happy smile. Jinyoung’s family happens to be one of the lucky few that get greeted by Youngjae’s warm ‘good morning!’ and even warmer bread. 

“You’re going to get herbs from the forest, right?” Youngjae asks, batting his eyelashes at Jinyoung with his lips agape curiously. “Here, take this with you!” Digging his hand into a basket, he grabs one of the long, golden loaves and hands it to Jinyoung while beaming at him.

 

“It’s alright. If I get hungry I can just find some berries—”

“No, take it! You can’t work on an empty stomach,” insists Youngjae, only shoving his hand that’s holding the bread even closer. Jinyoung looks at his determined eyes and sighs with a soft smile, giving in to his stubbornness. He thanks him before accepting the bread and placing it in his own basket. 

“Thank you, Youngjae. Have a nice day.” Jinyoung begins to head down the road, turning his head back and waving at Youngjae with a small grin. 

“You too! Stay safe, okay?” shouts Youngjae, waving his arm back vigorously. 

 

For the rest of his trip to the forest, Jinyoung doesn’t stop in order to speak to someone he knows on the streets. He does spot a couple of people he’s familiar with, though, especially an orphan boy named Bambam and his friend, Yugyeom. They both wave at him and Jinyoung smiles back at them, which is the only thing he does before glancing at the path again. They’re most likely waiting for Youngjae to finish his deliveries, since he always hands each of them a loaf of bread out of generosity. 

As Jinyoung soon reaches the end of the town, the road becomes a yellow, sandy path which, once he follows for a bit, eventually merges into a vast bed of grass. It’s a sign that he’s entered the edge of the forest and that the herbs he’s searching for are only a couple miles away. 

 

The forest is rather deep and has some of the tallest, thickest trees found in the entire country. Anyone not familiar with the forest would need multiple tools just to be able to find their way out of it — and that’s only if they aren’t ambushed by bandits on the way. 

 

Jinyoung, however, has been in this forest for _years_ , so he can simply walk in empty-handed and come back out safely without getting lost. He’s taken note of and memorized the areas of the forest where the herbs are abundant, as well the areas he should avoid. Countless animals, some harmless and some hostile, consider the forest as their home and Jinyoung is always careful not to step on the wrong side of the grass field.

His first priority is to find sage. Sage is used in many of his father’s recipes for medicine and is also popular as a spice used for cooking. Not only that, he’s discovered that sage can be found in nearly all spots of the forests and is relatively easy to find. He aims to have half his basket filled with the herb by noon.

 

Just after ten minutes of strolling further into the forest, his eyes have caught the sight of bushes that have blue-purple flowers blooming all around. He approaches it and crouches down to his knees, immediately picking off its leaves. He’s found the first sage bush and he knows that if there’s one here, there are bound to be more nearby. 

Jinyoung spends another ten minutes at that spot, meticulously picking the bush’s leaves and throwing them in his basket. Sure enough, there are four or five more bushes with the similarly colored flowers behind a nearby tree. He’s in a rather nice mood, actually, because he found the sage quicker than he thought he would. The bushes are more than enough for the supply that he needs to bring back to his parents’ store. 

Once he’s decided that he’s finished, he stands straight up and glances at his basket. More than half of it is filled with the green leaves of sage. He grins at the sight of his basket, proud of himself for working well, and moves on to search for rosemary. He figures that rosemary would also be no hassle to find, considering how strong its scent is. Jinyoung’s trained and experienced nose can pick up certain smells of herbs from meters away. 

 

Jinyoung travels nearly half an hour more until he finally picks up the signature scent of rosemary. In the distance, he can see the bushes decorated with flowers (which are also blue-purple like sage). He’s been walking for a while by now, so he rushes over to the rosemary and sits against a tree for a moment, wanting to rest his legs.

Although his nose is filled with the fragrance of rosemary, sitting besides his basket reminds him of the bread the generous Youngjae gave him earlier. He brings it out and rips off a piece, putting it in his mouth. He sighs out of satisfaction; Youngjae’s family’s bread is as phenomenal as it always is. 

After he has some bites of bread, Jinyoung gets up on his feet and starts plucking some rosemary leaves. He also gathers some of the flowers, too, since their oils can be used to make medicine. 

Just as he eyes the second bush, reaching out for it, his ears pick up a rustling noise from the plants behind him. He moves slowly, thinking it may be a large animal (judging from how loud the rustling is) and curls his fingers around the hilt of his dagger. He gulps nervously, hoping that whatever it is, it’ll leave him alone. 

The ruffling of the bushes becomes stronger and it’s obvious that the source of the noise is about to reveal itself. Jinyoung is increasingly worried about his well-being and slides the dagger out of its sheathe, holding it with two hands. His precious goods, the herbs, are securely hidden behind his body.

 

Suddenly, a head pokes out from the bush. It’s an awfully familiar face that makes Jinyoung burst into laughter when seeing.

 

“Jaebum!” he exclaims, a wide smile appearing on his face as he drops the dagger. He runs up to the one standing behind the bush and gives him a jump-hug, one that causes the both of them to fall to the ground. “I was so scared that you were a bandit or a wolf!”

Jinyoung has his arms wrapped around the other’s neck, laying on top of him with a huge grin on. Anyone can tell that the guy underneath him means a lot to Jinyoung, just by how his eyes are sparkling as he stares at him. 

 

Meanwhile, Jaebum is groaning softly and rubbing his left side (he _would_ rub both sides, but he has to hold onto Jinyoung with one hand). 

“Do you mind warning me before you do that next time?” Jaebum mutters, his eyes squeezing shut while he tries to prop his torso up with his elbows. That doesn’t work because of a certain weight that’s on top of him, though, so he gives up and his back falls onto the grass. He opens his eyes and peeks up at Jinyoung, returning the grin. “How are you, Jinyoung?” 

Jinyoung chuckles and gets off him — a relieved sigh escapes Jaebum’s lips when he does so — while tugging on his arm. He pulls Jaebum up so he, too, can sit upright and he tilts his head, gazing curiously at him. Jinyoung brushes away some of the other’s uncombed bangs, replying, “I’m doing better, now that you’re here for no particular reason. I feel much safer knowing that a knight is protecting me!” 

“Come on, Jinyoung, you know that I’m not a knight _yet_ ,” Jaebum says with a light scoff and rolls his eyes, though his expression makes it evident that he’s not actually annoyed. He’s never in a sour mood around Jinyoung, in fact.

 

Sighing, Jinyoung nods his head in acknowledgement and holds onto Jaebum’s hand. It’s not a romantic gesture — they’ve been doing that ever since they were toddlers. Jinyoung simply finds comfort in feeling Jaebum’s warmth and knowing that he’s there. “I know. I’m just excited that you’re going to become a knight! You always told me about how you’re going to protect the king and the queen… It’s amazing to see your dream coming true!” Suddenly, the sparkling look in his eyes disappear as he takes in a deep inhale, patting the back of Jaebum’s hand. “Come visit us when you have time, okay? We’ll treat you to lots of delicious meals.” 

 

Jaebum is still smiling, though his lips aren’t as curved as they were earlier. The reason for him wanting to become a knight that he always tells Jinyoung is, well… not entirely true. But he’s a bit shy to tell him the truth, so he doesn’t mention anything concerning it. “I appreciate it, Jinyoung. I really do.” 

They smile at each other with their eyes and lean in for a hug. It’s light yet also warm and lasts long, which lets a relaxed sigh out of Jinyoung’s mouth. Jaebum rubs his back in a circular motion with his hand. 

Soon enough, once Jaebum goes to the castle in order to train as a knight, they won’t be able to meet as often as they usually do. The two are best friends and see each other almost every day, and a sudden change like that will take awhile to get used to. 

 

The first time they ever met was back when Jaebum was 6 years old and Jinyoung was 5. They were near the forest, actually, and a wild dog had been barking at a terrified (and not to mention frail) Jinyoung, who was frozen in fear. Jaebum grabbed a nearby stick and waved it around at the dog aggressively, which somehow did the trick of making it leave. He swore to protect Jinyoung from that day on and they often traveled around town or to the forest together. 

It didn’t take a long time for Jaebum to admit that he had no parents and that he lived with his uncle in a small, cramped house. He didn’t have to work and neither did his uncle, because the man had earned quite a lot of money from his previous job. He didn’t have any motivation to continue working, so he decided to simply settle in a cheap town and live a boring life with his parentless nephew. He wasn’t particularly abusive or violent towards the child, but he never bothered to interact with him at all. He’d simply hand Jaebum a bag of coins as his allowance for the week and wouldn’t even care if he bought alcohol with the money. 

 

Jaebum never knew how it felt to be part of an actual caring family until he met Jinyoung. 

 

The store his parents owns has a second floor and that’s the part of the building Jinyoung’s family considers as their home. He invited Jaebum over a lot and they’d run around the second floor (which isn’t filled with shelves that hold glass bottles of medicine, thankfully) as if they were in a palace. His parents gladly fed him meals and even let him stay for the night as many times as he wished. In no time, they came to be inseparable friends who did essentially everything together. Jaebum never had a proper family, so he’s forever grateful for Jinyoung and his parents. 

 

The best thing he can do, he believes, to repay their kindness is to become a knight and protect them as long as he lives. 

 

“How come you’re in the forest, though?” asks Jinyoung, blinking his eyes curiously multiple times at the elder.

“I was actually, uh…” Jaebum replies but then trails off unconfidently — it’s because he realizes how embarrassing it is to confess his reason for being in the forest. He avoids having eye contact, knowing very well that Jinyoung can persuade him to do _anything_ , as long as he’s gazing at him with an anticipating look.

“You were what? Tell me, I want to know.” Holding onto Jaebum’s hand again, Jinyoung leans closer in eagerness to hear his answer. He’s taking advantage of the fact that Jaebum, although typically stubborn and independent, always complies to Jinyoung’s words. 

“I heard from some people that they saw a really rare flower in the forest. They say it’s beautiful and its essence can heal all sorts of illnesses,” Jaebum explains, rubbing his thumb over Jinyoung’s gloved hand and staring at his lap. “I wanted to, you know, find one and… give it to you.” 

The skin around Jinyoung’s eyes crinkle in absolute joy. He’s touched by Jaebum and his higher-pitched voice makes it obvious. “That’s really sweet of you. What’s the flower called?”

 

“They said it’s called the Red Moon.” 

Jinyoung covers his mouth with his palm and the skin around his eyes crinkles. He’s trying his best to hold back his laughter and Jaebum has no clue why. 

“What? What’s so funny?” asks Jaebum in a puzzled tone, leaning even closer to Jinyoung in hopes of making him stop laughing. Unfortunately for him, that does the exact opposite of what he expected, causing Jinyoung to giggle uncontrollably. 

 

“Jaebum…” he manages to utter in the midst of his laughing, which has calmed down to some degree by now. “The Red Moon is a mythical flower. It doesn’t actually exist.”

 

Embarrassed, Jaebum covers his face and has to go through sitting there in defeated silence while Jinyoung is having the time of his life besides him. Jinyoung isn’t laughing at how gullible he is and how easily he believed in a myth — he simply thinks Jaebum is cute and is laughing in delight. 

 

However, Jinyoung’s cackling is a bit too loud for his own good. Just a few seconds later, following some suspicious bush-rustling, five men in dark, protective clothing and masks over their mouths jump out from every direction and completely surround the two.

 

Jinyoung’s eyes widen in shock and he gasps, not reacting fast enough to beat the speed of the strange men. Jaebum, on the other hand, immediately stands up in order to attempt to drive the men away. Before he can do anything, though, two of the men grab his arms and lock him in place so he can’t move. Two other men hold down Jinyoung — he’s still seated on the ground — while one of them points a dangerously sharp dagger to his neck.

“Let go of him!” Jaebum shouts, infuriated at the men who are threatening to hurt the terrified Jinyoung. He kicks around his legs and tries to squirm out of their grasps, but his efforts only lead him to getting a knee thrusted into his stomach. He groans and, although he isn’t unconscious, grows silent from pangs of pain. The fifth man, who seems to be the leader of the small group, twirls around a dagger in his hand and stands in between Jaebum and Jinyoung.

 

“Give us all of your money and valuables,” the man demands, his rough voice muffled by the piece of cloth over his mouth. The men are a group of bandits and are exactly the type of people one should avoid coming across in the forest. Jinyoung and Jaebum just happen to be unlucky this day. “Hand them to us obediently and we won’t kill pretty boy over here.” He gestures to Jinyoung with the hilt of his dagger, mainly speaking to Jaebum.

“We don’t have any!” Jinyoung desperately shouts, his chest rapidly rising and falling from how frightened he is. The man holding the dagger to his neck only presses it even closer to his skin and makes him whimper. There’s only a mere inch between the blade and his skin, which forces the helpless Jaebum watching to snap. 

 

Jaebum bites down onto the arm of one of the guys holding him back and kicks their legs, an act that irritates them both. One of them punches his cheek — which is more painful than it should be because of his glove that’s studded with pieces of shiny metal — and the other kicks him again, this time making use of the sharp edge of his boot’s heel. The heel is sharp enough that it, in fact, tears a part of Jaebum’s cotton shirt and cuts his skin. His face, arms and stomach are now littered with small cuts.

 

“Don’t lie to us, brat!” the leader growls, obviously annoyed at Jaebum’s disobedient behavior. He makes a gesture with his hand that signals for the men to start searching through their clothes, through every tiny pocket and fold, for anything that could be considered valuable. Both of them are from one of the poorest towns in the kingdom, though, and nothing they own is sellable to the main cities’ markets. The men shake their heads at the leader and he growls again, finding that he’s wasted time on two boys who aren’t worth anything. 

The leader whistles and the two are suddenly let go of. Jinyoung hugs himself and is panting as he’s released, staring at the bandits with wide, terrified eyes. Jaebum is injured and sore in multiple places of his body, so he falls to the ground when the men let go of his arms. One of them stomps on his stomach before leaving with the rest of the group, causing him to roll over on his body and groan loudly. 

Jinyoung isn’t able to think properly due to his fear, but he overcomes it soon when his eyes catch the sight of Jaebum curled up in pain. He rushes over to him and kneels besides him, grabbing his shoulders and turning his body to face upwards. He can feel his heart sink when he sees that Jaebum’s eyes are clenched shut and hears his hissing as he’s trying to ignore his stinging wounds.

 

“Jaebum! Jaebum!” Jinyoung cries repeatedly, his eyes becoming watery the more he watches the other wince every time he moves any part of his body. He’s never witnessed him in such pain; he’s always admired him as a strong person, so the Jaebum he’s seeing at the moment worries him to death. Jaebum takes in deep, slow breaths as he sits up with the help of Jinyoung holding onto his torso, groaning the most when he has to move his stomach. 

“I’m… I’m fine,” insists Jaebum, whose eyes are now open and gazing at Jinyoung in order to check whether _he’s_ unscathed. He’s clutching his abdomen with one arm, the other arm being caressed by the concerned Jinyoung. “They’re only minor cuts… It’s fine.”

 

“No, it’s _not_ fine!” Holding both of Jaebum’s scratched cheeks, Jinyoung stares at him teary-eyed and eventually hugs him (gently as to not accentuate his pain), stuffing his face into his chest. “I was so scared for you…” His shoulders are trembling and the movement of his back emphasizes his hiccups, indicating that he’s crying. Jaebum returns an embrace to his shaky body and leans his head close to his ear.

 

“Don’t cry, Jinyoung,” whispers Jaebum, a soft smile appearing on his face — which Jinyoung can’t see, obviously — as he thinks about how fortunate he is to have such a caring friend. “I’ll be okay. Aren’t you the son of the kingdom’s best herbalist?” 

 

Jinyoung sniffs his reddened nose and looks up to Jaebum with a tear running down his cheek. Gazing at that small yet hopeful smile is enough to gradually form a grin on his face, too. “You’re right,” he agrees, wiping his wet eyes using the sleeve of his shirt, “I have to get you patched up.” 

After standing on his feet and brushing off strands of grass and some dirt from his clothing, he holds out his palms. Jaebum grabs and uses them as support for him to also stand up. Quickly, Jinyoung goes past the bush in order to pick up his basket as well as dagger and soon returns to where Jaebum is waiting.

 

“Don’t you have to collect more herbs?” Jaebum asks, still clutching his stomach. 

Shaking his head, Jinyoung hangs the basket on his arm and tucks the blade back into its sheathe where it belongs. “A slight delay won’t make us go bankrupt.”

Jinyoung puts his arm around Jaebum’s shoulder, while _his_ free arm snugly curls around the younger’s waist, keeping it there as both support for his sore body and protection for the smaller male.

 

They smile at each other reassuringly as they make their way back to the town.


	2. honey, you’re so sweet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m So Bad At Updating I’m Really Sorry
> 
> also the next chapter might be the last?? jackson + mark will make their appearance as well  
> and yugbam will probably actually say/do something

Both of their stomachs grumble loudly when they smell the fresh meat and fish being cooked for lunch on the streets.

 

Almost an hour has passed since they first saw the lights of the town and reached the edge of the forest — even though Jaebum didn’t agree with the idea at first, Jinyoung wanted them to walk slowly so his injuries wouldn’t get any worse. The last thing he wants to see is the soon-to-be knight’s body getting covered in nasty-looking and painful infections. 

Hygiene isn’t the best at a poor town like the one they reside in and those with medical knowledge — in other words, Jinyoung and his family — know that the lack of bathing and washing up is a major factor in all sorts of illnesses. Sadly, there isn’t much they can do to prevent these illnesses with origins of unhygienic people and environments. To compensate for that, they try their best to cook up remedies that will, at least, soothe whatever pain the patient is having.

 

It’s just about noontime as Jinyoung and Jaebum arrive at the town once more, with an injured arm still coiled around the smaller waist protectively. Young boys and men showing affection towards one another isn’t something unheard of in this area of the kingdom — the country, even — so no one makes a double-take to the two friends. Besides, everyone seems to busy with the preparation for their first meal of the day (a lot of people around town can’t afford to have three meals a day, so they usually skip eating in the morning) which, unfortunately for the hungry two, takes place outside their homes. 

Jinyoung’s nose subconsciously sniffs the air continuously, catching the scent of some creamy stew that someone has a whole pot of outdoors. Jaebum can smell chicken and pork being cooked and seasoned, an irresistible fragrance for a person who likes to eat _a lot_ of meat.

 

Unbelievably (or not), the loaf of bread Youngjae handed to Jinyoung earlier is nowhere to be seen. They were already hungry in the middle of their trip through the forest and devoured the bread within a minute (yet again, they thanked Youngjae for being generous, kind-hearted, thoughtful and every other positive adjective). 

Perhaps they can hear each other’s stomachs growling and pleading for food, for they happen to glance at one another the exact same moment. Neither of them are sure as to what they should say except for complain about food, so they instead smile like a pair of friendly idiots.

 

Jaebum doesn’t quite notice but sitting next to the door of a small home are Bambam and Yugyeom, watching the couple from afar with mouths open wide. Most likely, they’re wondering what kind of trouble Jaebum got in, considering the small cuts that are all over his body. They’re concerned for his health too, of course, though that’s mainly Yugyeom. Bambam doesn’t know Jaebum or even Jinyoung well — his only friends are basically Yugyeom and Youngjae. 

 

Yugyeom catches onto something and whispers to his friend, who tends to… act on impulse often. He says that they must be headed for Jinyoung’s place so he can get taken care of; Bambam nods and goes ‘oh’ as if he couldn’t think of that idea himself, his eyes following their bodies as they walk past. They’ll probably bother Jinyoung later when he isn’t busy. 

 

Jinyoung and his guest enter the building through a different entrance — which leads to the back room where goods are stored — and the first person to greet them is his mother. She’s a sweet woman who cares for Jaebum as if he’s her biological son, even if they don’t own the money to be able to properly raise two children. She isn’t expecting Jinyoung to be back this early, so the sight of the tattered Jaebum makes her considerably worried.

 

“My goodness! What happened to you, dear?” she asks in a loud voice, a bit sharp due to her shock from seeing all those cuts over Jaebum’s body. Hurriedly, she leaves the chair she was sitting on and approaches the two young men, her jaw dropping the more she looks at Jaebum. “Was it a wolf? A dog? You didn’t get into a fight, did you?” 

“Mother, please calm down,” Jinyoung replies, sheepishly grinning at her and patting her soft, wool-covered arm. Without further explanation, his foot is already finding its way to the wooden staircase with Jaebum promptly behind him. “I’m going to take care of him in my room, okay?” he says with his head turned behind his shoulder, glancing down at his mother. The concerned expression lingers on her well-aged face but she nods, anyways, trusting that her son knows what he’s doing.

 

“I’ll prepare an extra serving for lunch, then! Rest well, Jaebum!” she shouts from downstairs, a tiny smile appearing on her lips. She’s always in a good mood when she sees Jinyoung being close to Jaebum, believing that friendship is a wonderful thing. 

 

“Thank you, Ma’am.” Jaebum bows his head at her when he, too, looks back at the woman, never failing to be polite around her. He’s essentially the person he is today because Jinyoung’s mother offered him a tremendous amount of things he didn’t have when he was a younger child — which includes the love of a caring mother.

 

Since it definitely isn’t the first time Jaebum’s been in Jinyoung’s house, he doesn’t need help finding his room among the cramped space. Jaebum steps into his room first and is told to sit on his bed, which he does obediently. While Jinyoung pulls the curtains away so sunlight can illuminate the otherwise dark place, Jaebum undoes his top. It’s ripped, after all, and he correctly assumes that it’ll need to be off when Jinyoung’s mending his injuries. 

Jinyoung’s room is a modest part of the house that fits only one bed, one bookshelf and one drawer for his clothing. There’s a small, wooden stool placed against the wall so it won’t be in the way of anyone passing by. It’s mainly there to be an extra seat when the bed is occupied, since it can only fit one person comfortably. 

Jinyoung and Jaebum used to sleep in that same bed when they were younger and subsequently small-bodied, though now Jaebum’s toes stick out when he lays on it flat and straight. There isn’t a single book on the bookshelf — no one in town is able to read or write, anyways — and is instead filled with bottles of various shapes and sizes, small tools for certain medical situations and vials of colorful liquids. They seem to be arranged in a particular order that’s probably only understood by Jinyoung.

 

“Jaebum, can you take off your—” begins Jinyoung while he’s facing the window, meaning that he hasn’t noticed Jaebum is shirtless without him telling him to be so. He freezes when he turns around and sees Jaebum staring back at him anticipatingly. Since when did this guy become _this_ ripped? Sure, Jinyoung knows that he’s physically fit so he can qualify as a knight, but _this_ is just a huge (yet not unpleasant) surprise. 

 

His eyes can’t help but stray downwards from Jaebum’s face to his… No! Jinyoung has to stay focused, which does _not_ include gawking at a guy’s muscular, nicely toned torso and arms. He shuts his eyes and walks right past Jaebum, who’s patiently sitting on the bed. He’s enjoying the sight of Jaebum’s muscular body more than he should. “Never mind. It’s already off.”

 

“Where are you going?” Jaebum asks when he realizes that Jinyoung is heading out the room, genuinely confused as to why he seemingly avoided looking at him. Even though it’s clear that Jinyoung’s trying to not get distracted by the nice body, Jaebum simply doesn’t understand that. Majority of the reason is that Jaebum doesn’t think of Jinyoung as being a dirty-minded person — this _is_ the person he swears on his life to protect, after all. 

He isn’t enthusiastic about the sinful desires and lust some people have (and unfortunately like to show off on the streets in the middle of the night), after all. 

 

But he _is_ keen about love, which may or may not be what his heart overflows with when he looks at a certain herb-collecting boy.

 

“I’m getting warm water and some other stuff. It won’t take long,” Jinyoung quickly answers without bothering to face the half-naked guy in his room, leaving the other’s sight as soon as he finishes speaking. The sound of his rushed and loud footsteps traveling down the staircase vibrates the creaky floor of the old home. 

Although basically every house found on the streets is wobbly and seems to be in danger of collapsing, all of them have been standing strong for tens of years.

 

As promised, it doesn’t take long for Jinyoung’s footsteps to march up the stairs and enter the room. In his arms, he’s holding a large, rather flat container of water along with many other items. A towel hangs over his shoulder, cloth bags of herbs are tucked under his arms and his fingers barely hold onto a small bottle made out of dark brown glass. 

 

Jinyoung places the heaviest one on top of the stool — the water-filled container, of course — and tosses the bags of herbs onto the bed. He reaches for something from the bookshelf and, despite the mess that’s on the topmost section, swiftly pulls out a small, thick bowl and a short wooden stick (in Jaebum’s non-medicinal, uneducated mind’s perspective, of course).

With a tired sigh from moving around his body vigorously, Jinyoung grabs the towel from his shoulder and dips it into the water. He dunks it multiple times so it’s sufficiently damp, wrings it out so it won’t drip _too_ much water, and glances at Jaebum. “Hold out your arm,” he asks in a serious voice, concentrated on his work. Jaebum feels like he shouldn’t say anything and let Jinyoung focus, so he does as he’s told. Jinyoung wipes the half-dried blood off of the cuts on Jaebum’s arms gently, almost as if massaging his skin. He then cleans the towel with the water again, wiping away the red color from every spot on Jaebum’s where it’s visible. 

 

Although it does sting a bit, the warm water and gentle touch feel rather pleasant to Jaebum. The water ends up becoming a murky brown-red hue after a couple times of repeated dipping and wringing; he won’t be using that water anymore, that’s for sure.

Jinyoung’s breathing is heavier than usual and a bead of sweat trickles down his pale neck — trying not to stare at Jaebum’s bare chest and arms isn’t the easiest thing ever to do. He takes off his outer top, which is more or less a jacket of sorts, finding the room to be awfully stuffy all of a sudden. He throws it on the floor, not having the patience to get up and hang it somewhere. Underneath, he’s wearing a thin, white blouse with baggy sleeves that he pulls up and folds at his elbows so they won’t be a nuisance.

 

Jinyoung then grabs the glass bottle he brought with him earlier and unscrews its cap, placing it between his teeth. While Jaebum watches as the other’s plump lips hug the cap tightly, he can’t help but worry about him. He doesn’t imagine that placing the cap of a bottle filled with medicine in one’s own mouth is the best decision to make. 

 

The way his lips are almost _sucking_ on the thing concerns Jaebum even more. But no, he doesn’t dare to question Jinyoung because medicine is a strange, mysterious field that he knows absolutely nothing about.

 

“I’ll make you a poultice,” Jinyoung announces, followed by a soft sigh as he tilts the bottle sideways and sticks his index finger in, “but it’s hard to use that on your face so, instead, I’m using this.”

Jinyoung pulls his finger out and it’s covered in thick, golden honey. It’s not used as a topping for afternoon toasted bread or to add flavor to one’s cup of tea — the raw honey is, too, considered as a treatment for open wounds but mostly small cuts, which is why Jinyoung sees it as the perfect remedy for Jaebum’s scratched face. He shifts forward so he won’t have to stretch his arm out too much and glares at the cut that’s going from Jaebum’s jawline to right under his eye. 

A sigh escapes his lips — he’s not happy that the beauty of his friend’s face is marred by such a wound. Judging from its length and the amount of the wine-red fluid that’s still oozing out, Jinyoung can already envision an unsightly scar making its debut on his smooth skin. How unfortunate.

 

“Honey?” questions Jaebum, eyebrows raising in curiosity. Jinyoung nods as he rubs his honey-covered finger over the largest cut on Jaebum’s cheek. He has a habit of sticking out his tongue slightly whenever he does anything requiring precise motor skills, and it’s bothering Jaebum as he’s forced to watch it happen. 

 

He just doesn’t realize that closing his eyes would be the simplest way to avoid witnessing Jinyoung’s tongue lick his lips and, when he’s finished, his finger.

 

“Too sweet,” murmurs Jinyoung underneath his breath while shrugging, without the intention of having Jaebum (accidentally) hear him. He closes the bottle, the cap clinking against the glass material as he does so, and places it on the nearby shelf. While rummaging through the pile of his herbs, Jaebum feels something trickling down his cheek, and eventually on his upper lip.

 

“Uh, Jinyoung, should I leave this alone?” he asks, pointing to his lip when Jinyoung turns his direction. Murmuring something incoherent underneath his breath, Jinyoung crouches his back in order to lean closer to the other, blinking at the dripping honey. 

 

A short and sharp breath escapes from the speechless Jaebum’s lips. He never really realizes it when they see each other since their faces are rarely ever this close, but… _Jinyoung is breathtakingly beautiful._

It happens slowly, every move taking at least a few seconds each. But the slower the pace is, the more the two can hear one another’s heart beating faster with every passing second. Jinyoung, finding Jaebum’s shoulders to be the perfect spot to place his nervous hands on, is breathing with his lips slightly apart as he stares at him with large, beady eyes, almost resembling a pleading puppy. 

 

Jaebum doesn’t have the time because to say something because, at that moment, Jinyoung’s lips on his own prevent him from speaking.

 

Their brief kiss doesn’t last long — especially not as long as Jaebum wants it to. Only moments later, Jinyoung gently pulls his lips away and his eyes gradually open (they had closed when the two made contact as if it was a natural instinct). Almost as if he was in a trance when their lips met, Jinyoung’s eyes widen after realizing what he just did and he makes a tiny gasp out of embarrassment. Immediately, his cheeks redden and he leans away from Jaebum, terrified of what _his_ reaction will be.

 

“I-I’m sorry, I don’t know what I—”

 

Jinyoung doesn’t get the chance to finish his thought because Jaebum grabs his wrist and presses their lips together. From Jinyoung comes a soft, muffled whimper of surprise and his hands search to grip onto _something_ — which happens to be the other’s bare arms.

Since their little peck is the only thing that’s currently in Jinyoung’s mind, he’s completely forgotten the fact that Jaebum is naked from the waist up. But there isn’t time for him to worry about that. He shuts his eyes, trusting in Jaebum to be, at least, gentle with him, and melts into his strong arms that wrap around his (clothed) body.

 

Jaebum is pulling Jinyoung even closer the more their kiss — which can no longer be considered a ‘peck’ at this point — lasts and occasionally parts his lips from the other pair, only to dive back in for deeper kisses. Jinyoung is on the verge of sitting on his friend's lap and is, with one hand, clutching the bedsheet. He barely moves his lips, wanting Jaebum to lead him in what he’s supposed to do because, if it isn’t obvious, this is his very first — well, it’s technically his second — kiss and he has no clue what to do. 

 

What he believes is that Jaebum is more experienced with kisses and all of that embarrassing nonsense, so he leaves all the work up to him. The most Jinyoung does during their mini-session of quick yet sweet (literally) kissing is loosen and pucker his own lips a little bit, just so Jaebum doesn’t find that he’s smooching a wooden doll.

 

After roughly a minute passes, Jaebum is moving significantly slower and his embrace around Jinyoung’s body is not as tight. With his eyes slightly open, he carefully and gently pulls his face away, gazing up to see how he’s doing. 

Jinyoung’s mouth hangs open by a tad bit when they are no longer making contact as he pants lightly, almost as if implying that he isn’t satisfied yet. However, the two silently decide that it should come to an end, signaled by Jaebum’s arms letting go of Jinyoung. 

 

Jinyoung is _beyond_ embarrassed. He can’t believe that he did _that_ on impulse and that Jaebum even returned his little peck (except he did a lot more than just peck). It seems so surreal to him that, in such a short duration, his first kiss happened in his own room with his childhood friend.

 

Now he’s absolutely terrified that he single-handedly ruined their friendship and is deciding on whether to smile, cry, or run away. His face is still red as a tomato and he clutches both of his cheeks, a gesture he often does when he’s feeling shy or insecure about something — and Jaebum recognizes this gesture when he sees it.

Jaebum reaches out his hand in order to brush away some of the younger’s bangs that have fallen in front of his eyes, also anxiously waiting for Jinyoung’s response. He’s worried about their friendship, sure, but his top priority is to express how he feels about their relationship (and his feelings for him). He waits patiently for the moment Jinyoung composes himself so he won’t cause him to have a nervous breakdown or anything of the sort.

 

Clearing his throat, Jaebum says, “Jinyoung, I—”

 

“S-Save it for later, Jaebum,” he interrupts in a voice that sounds shaky, just as though he’s crying. Already, he’s turned on his heel and is refusing to even glance at Jaebum, fear being the most prominent emotion in his heart at the moment.

“Jinyoung, I’ll always protect you.” Jaebum has stood up from the bed and is grabbing Jinyoung’s arm to stop him from leaving the room. For a couple of seconds, the both of them are absolutely silent, but Jinyoung _does_ hesitantly turn around in order to face him. _What is he saying?_ Jinyoung can’t help but think; the “I will protect you” phrase is something he always hears coming out of Jaebum’s mouth so it doesn’t strike him as anything special. But, the more he thinks about it and the more he gazes into Jaebum’s confident and strong-willed eyes, the closer he is to realizing he’s been missing something all along. Jinyoung’s lips form a tiny smile and he looks as if he’s about to cry.

 

“Jaebum, you mean ‘I love you,’ don’t you?”

 

Hearing that, Jaebum gulps. “…I don't know how to say that properly. To you.”

 

In contrast to Jaebum’s wide, anxious gaze, Jinyoung’s face is rather pleased and his smile grows wider with every passing second. He stares fondly at the one standing in front of him and, eventually, wraps his arms around his broad torso. The side of his face rests against Jaebum’s chest and he snuggles into his sturdy body with a blissful expression.

 

“It’s okay. I’ll teach you.”


End file.
